Local News

Fishpot Creek runs through the heart of Ballwin, emptying at the Meramec River. It's just one small vein that contributes to the life of the massive waterway, but a critical one, nonetheless.

Perhaps fittingly, the Fishpot Creek Bluegrass Band at Holy Infant Parish in Ballwin adopted the stream as its namesake. The band formed in 2011 as "something different to enhance the worship a little bit," founding member Mary Pancella said.

One small part of the parish community, contributing to the larger Body of Christ.

Habitat for Humanity St. Louis will begin building The Pope Francis House next month in the Tiffany Neighborhood in south St. Louis for a family currently living in substandard housing.

An anonymous donor sponsored The Pope Francis House with $60,000 gift, seeking to inspire the St. Louis community to raise at least $40,000 more for construction.

"We have started to reach out to different (Catholic) churches in the community, and St. Louis University is also taking a significant role in helping build this home," said Katie Harder, major gifts manager for Habitat.

To celebrate the Year of Consecrated Life, religious communities in the archdiocese are opening their doors -- for young people discerning the call to religious life and for visitors to explore the religious orders living their charisms.

Next up are the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and the School Sisters of Notre Dame, both hosting events the weekend of March 7-8.

On a recent afternoon, Charles Davis sat behind the counter at his restaurant -- Ferguson Burger Bar and More -- and took advantage of the lull to catch up on some work.

Along with his co-owner and wife, Kizzie, Davis wears many hats. Business manager and floor sweeper. Marketing executive and server. Financial officer and cashier. You name it and he does it, sneaking in duties between customers in his 12-hour days, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

"Even when it's slow, there's always something to do," he said in a brief break from handling paperwork and working the phones.

There's an old story in which the great Dominican St. Thomas Aquinas wrote about Jesus and the Eucharist. Seeking the Lord's approval, St. Thomas approached the crucifix and asked Him to judge what he had composed.

"You've written well of Me," Christ told him. "What do you seek as your reward?"

Treating patients in a Third World country is challenging when equipment is unavailable, outdated or malfunctioning. It helps when the right equipment seemingly appears miraculously.

Early on a volunteer medical brigade's mission trip to Honduras in 2014, Dr. Mario Castro, a pulmonologist at Washington University and leader of the brigade, saw an elderly man who was thought to have lung cancer and appeared to be dying. He had a cough, significant weakness and weight loss. A chest X-ray showed a mass in his right lung, and his condition didn't respond to antibiotics.